Method for allocating uplink ack/nack channels

ABSTRACT

An apparatus and method are provided for allocating an uplink resource for a User Equipment (UE). The method includes receiving a downlink control channel and a downlink data channel corresponding to the downlink control channel from a base station; identifying a Physical Uplink Control CHannel (PUCCH) resource index for the downlink data channel based on a first Control Channel Element (CCE) of the downlink control channel; and transmitting a PUCCH in an uplink subframe based on the identified PUCCH resource index.

PRIORITY

This application is a Continuation application of U.S. application Ser.No. 12/866,178, which was filed in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Officeon Aug. 4, 2010, as a National Phase entry of PCT/KR2009/000053, andclaims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) to Chinese Application No.200810005747.0, which was filed in the State Intellectual PropertyOffice (SIPO) on Feb. 4, 2008, the content of each of which isincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

Present invention relates to a wireless communication system, especiallyto an apparatus and method for allocating uplinkACKnowledgement/Negative ACKnowledgement (ACK/NACK) channels fordownlink data transmission in a wireless communication system.

2. Description of the Related Art

The 3^(rd) Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Standardizationorganization is taking Long-Term Evolution (LTE) over regulations forexisting systems. Its downlink transmission technique is based onOrthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) and uplinktransmission technique is based on Single Carrier Frequency DivisionMultiple Addressing (SCFDMA). There are two types of frame structures inLTE system, in which type 1 of frame structure applies FrequencyDivision Duplexing (FDD) and type 2 applies Time Division Duplexing(TDD).

FIG. 1 shows a frame structure in LTE FDD system in which a timeduration of radio frame is 307200×T_(s)=10 ms and each frame is dividedinto 20 time slots 15360T_(s)=0.5 ms long, the slots have indexesranging from 0 to 19. Each time slot includes a plurality of OFDMsymbols whose CP has two types, i.e., a normal CP and an extended CP.Time slots using normal CP include 7 OFDM symbols while the time slotsusing extended CP have 6 OFDM symbols. Each sub-frame consists of twosuccessive time slots, i.e., a k^(th) sub-frame includes a slot 2k^(th)and a slot (2k+1)^(th)

FIG. 2 illustrates a frame structure in LTE TDD system. Radio framewhose length is 307200×T_(s)=10 ms is divided into two equal half-frames153600×T_(s)=5 ms long. Each half-frame includes 8 slots with15360T_(s)=0.5 ms long and 3 special domains, i.e., a Downlink PilotTime Slot (DwPTS), a Guard Period (GP) and an Uplink Pilot Time Slot(UpPTS), a total length of the three domains is 30720T_(s)=1 ms. Eachtime slot includes a plurality of OFDM symbols whose CP has two types,i.e., a normal CP and an extended CP. Time slots using normal CP include7 OFDM symbols while the time slots using extended CP have 6 OFDMsymbols. Each sub-frame consists of two successive time slots, i.e., thek^(th) sub-frame includes the 2k^(th) and (2k+1)^(th) time slots.Sub-frame 1 and 2 include the 3 special domains mentioned. According tothe discussion result, sub-frame 0 and 5 and DwPTS are constantlyassigned for downlink transmission. If a conversion period is 5 ms,UpPTS, sub-frame 2 and 7 are constantly assigned for uplinktransmission. If the conversion period is 10 ms, UpPTS and sub-frame 2are constantly assigned for the uplink transmission.

According to the discussion result up to now, first N OFDM symbols ineach downlink sub-frame are adopted to transmit downlink controlchannels. Here, for FDD, n is less than or equal to 3; for TDD,consideration shall be given into the situation that differentrequirements for downlink and uplink allocated proportions may require nshall be equal to or greater than 4. Physical Control Format IndicatorCHannel (PCFICH) is adopted to transmit the values of above said n, sothat Physical Downlink Control CHannel (PDCCH) is transmitted in thefirst n OFDM symbols. Here, PCFICH is transmitted in the first OFDMsymbol of each frame and PDCCH is obtained by combining one or moreControl Channel Elements (CCE). Each CCE contains sub-carriers in fixednumber. According to the discussion result up to now, the number of CCEcontained in PDCCH may be 1, 2, 4 and 8. Moreover, whether it supports 3CCEs to form a PDCCH or not is still under discussion.

According to the discussion result on LTE, physical time frequencyresource is divided into a plurality of Resource Blocks (RBs) which area minimum grain sizes for resource distribution. Each resource blockincludes M successive sub-carriers in frequency domain, and N successivesymbols in the time, which is OFDM symbols in corresponding downlinksand Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SCFDMA) symbolsin corresponding uplinks. According to the discussion result on LTE upto now, M is 12, and N is subject to the number of OFDM or SCFDMAsymbols in a sub-frame.

According to the discussion result on corresponding uplink controlchannel in LTE, the uplink control channel includes an ACK/NACK and aChannel Quality Indicator (CQI), etc. When the uplink data transmissiondoes not exit, the uplink control channel is allocated in preservedfrequency domains as shown in FIG. 3 which are distributed at both endsof frequency band in the system. Meanwhile, to obtain frequencydiversity effect, in a sub-frame, the uplink control channel occupies aRB (301) at the upper end of frequency band in the first time slot and aRB (302) at the lower end of frequency band in the second time slot, ora RB (303) at the lower end of frequency band in the first time slot anda RB (304) at the upper end of frequency band in the second time slot.Therefore, time frequency resource occupied by each control channel isallocated at both ends of frequency band in the system and its number isequal to that of time frequency resource for a RB. According to thediscussion result up to now, for the frame structure adopting normal CP,the number of ACK/NACK channels multiplexed in each RB may be 36, 18 or12; for the frame structure using extended CP, the number of ACK/NACKchannels multiplexed in each RB may be 12 or 8. In addition, when uplinkdata transmission exits, uplink control signaling is transmitted inuplink data channel resource allocated by node B.

According to the discussion result on downlink data transmission basedon HARQ in LTE, for non-persistent scheduling, namely dynamicscheduling, indexes of ACK/NACK channels are bound impliedly with theminimum indexes of CCEs which form a PDCCH. According to the discussionresult up to now, n, the number of OFDM adopted to transmit downlinkcontrol channels in each sub-frame is configured dynamically throughPCFICH, so that the number of CCEs available actually in each downlinksub-frame is also configured dynamically through PCFICH; meanwhile, onlyone part of these available CCEs are adopted to schedule downlink datatransmission dynamically. Since only CCEs adopted to schedule downlinkdata transmission dynamically requires to be bound with uplink ACK/NACKchannels actually and the number of ACK/NACK required actually fordownlink transmission of each sub-frame changes dynamically. However,the number of ACK/NACK in uplink direction is configuredsemi-statically, so that in general, only a part of them are occupied.When all ACK/NACK channels in one or more RBs adopted to transmitACK/NACK information configured semi-statically are not occupied, theseRBs can be allocated and adopted to schedule uplink data dynamically inorder to make full use of resources in the system.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram for scheduling uplink data dynamicallyin a RB configured semi-statically and adopted to transmit ACK/NACK.Here suppose that ACK/NACK channel indexes bound with CCE are regardedas indexes of this CCE and the number of multiplexed ACK/NACK channelsin each RB is 8. As shown in FIG. 4, a part of CCEs in current sub-frameare adopted to schedule downlink data transmission including 3 PDCCHswhich consist of 4, 2 and 2 CCEs respectively. Therefore, there are only3 occupied actually ACK/NACK channels distributed in the first RB butall ACK/NACK channels in the second RB are available, so that the secondRB is idle, which node B can schedule dynamically to transmit uplinkdata transmission.

FIG. 4 shows a method for binding CCE and ACK/NACK, in which indexes ofACK/NACK channels bound with a CCE are equal to indexes of this CCE.However, under some circumstances, this method fails to reduceeffectively the number of RBs in which ACK/NACK occupies. As shown inFIG. 5, suppose that the number of multiplexed ACK/NACK channels in eachRB is 8 and 8 CCEs form a PDCCHs, two of which are sent in downlinksub-frame. As shown in FIG. 5, there are 2 ACK/NACK channels occupiedactually but both of which belong to different RBs respectively. Inorder to ensure ACK/NACK channel performance, these two RBs can not beadopted to schedule dynamically uplink data transmission, which resultsin a failure for putting uplink resource into full use.

In LTE TDD system, configuring locations of switching points fordownlink and uplink is able to adjust sub-frame proportion used fordownlink and uplink transmissions. According to current results, for the5 ms switch period, the possible proportion may be 1:3, 2:2 or 3:1; fora 10 ms switching period, the possible proportion may be 6:3, 7:2, 8:1or 3:5. For the configuration that downlink sub-frame dominates, asdownlink sub-frames are more than uplink ones, when ACK/NACK channelsare bound for data transmission in each downlink sub-frame, it may benecessary that a plurality of downlink sub-frames shall be bound toACK/NACK channels in the same uplink sub-frame. Suppose an uplinksub-frame requires to transmit ACK/NACK channels of K downlinksub-frames and let the number of CCEs in K downlink sub-frames be N_(k),k=0, 1, . . . K−1 respectively. Here, it is indicated dynamically fromPCFICH that the number of OFDM symbols adopted to transmit downlinkcontrol channel in each sub-frame is n, and then the number of CCEs ineach sub-frame is known as N_(k). A binding method is: firstly, N₁ CCEsin a first downlink sub-frame shall be bound with a first N₁ ACK/NACKchannels in uplink sub-frame; it is followed by that N₂ CCEs in a seconddownlink sub-frame shall be bound with the next N₂ ACK/NACK channels inuplink sub-frame; the rest may be deduced similarly.

FIG. 6 shows a schematic diagram of the above method for binding CCEs ina plurality of downlink sub-frames to ACK/NACK channels in one uplinksub-frame. Here suppose 3 ACK/NACK channels in a downlink sub-frame aretransmitted in the same uplink sub-frame and the number of CCEs in eachsub-frame obtained through PCFICH is 4, 8 and 4. In this way, 4 CCEs inthe first downlink sub-frame are bound with ACK/NACK channels 0, 1, 2and 3 in uplink sub-frame; 8 CCEs in the second downlink sub-frame arebound with ACK/NACK channels 4˜11 in uplink sub-frame; 4 CCEs in thesecond downlink sub-frame are bound with ACK/NACK channels 12˜15 inuplink sub-frame.

The binding method shown in FIG. 6 has a problem that its reliabilitydepends on correct receiving of PCFICHs in a plurality of downlinksub-frames. Specifically, in order to receive correctly control channelsand identify their used ACK/NACK channels, UE scheduled in a seconddownlink sub-frame will receive correctly PCFICHs in both the second andthe first downlink sub-frames, since in the method for binding ACK/NACKshown in FIG. 6, indexes of ACK/NACK channels bound with CCEs in thesecond downlink sub-frame depends on the total number of CCEs in thefirst downlink sub-frame. Similarly, UE scheduled in a third downlinksub-frame shall receive correctly PCFICHs in both the third and thefirst two downlink sub-frames, since in the method for binding ACK/NACKshown in FIG. 6, indexes of ACK/NACK channels bound with CCEs in thethird downlink sub-frame depends on the total number of CCEs in thefirst two downlink sub-frames. It will be seen that, in addition to thefirst downlink sub-frame, the reliability for CCE correctly binding withACK/NACK channels in other downlink sub-frames declines as it depends oncorrect receiving of PCFICHs in a plurality of sub-frames.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention is designed to address at least theproblems and/or disadvantages described above and to provide at leastthe advantages described below.

An aspect of present invention is to provide a method for allocatinguplink ACK/NACK channels for downlink data transmission in a wirelesscommunication system.

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a method isprovided for allocating an uplink resource for a User Equipment (UE).The method includes receiving a downlink control channel and a downlinkdata channel corresponding to the downlink control channel from a basestation; identifying a Physical Uplink Control CHannel (PUCCH) resourceindex for the downlink data channel based on a first Control ChannelElement (CCE) of the downlink control channel; and transmitting a PUCCHin an uplink subframe based on the identified PUCCH resource index.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a method isprovided for supporting uplink resource allocation for a User Equipment(UE) at a base station. The method includes transmitting a downlinkcontrol channel and a downlink data channel corresponding to thedownlink control channel to the UE; and receiving a Physical UplinkControl CHannel (PUCCH) in an uplink subframe based on a PUCCH resourceindex for the downlink data channel, the PUCCH resource index beingidentified based on a first Control Channel Element (CCE) of thedownlink control channel.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a method isprovided for allocating an uplink resource for a User Equipment (UE).The method includes receiving at least one downlink control channel andat least one downlink data channel corresponding to the at least onedownlink control channel in at least one downlink subframe from a basestation; determining at least one Physical Uplink Control CHannel(PUCCH) resource candidate for an uplink subframe based on a firstControl Channel Element (CCE) of each of the at least one downlinkcontrol channel and a number of the at least one downlink subframeassociated with the uplink subframe; identifyingACKnowledgement/Negative ACKnowledgement (ACK/NACK) information for theat least one downlink data channel, respectively; determining a PUCCHresource among the at least one PUCCH resource candidate based on theidentified ACK/NACK information; and transmitting a PUCCH in the uplinksubframe based on the determined PUCCH resource.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a method isprovided for supporting uplink resource allocation for a User Equipment(UE) at a base station. The method includes transmitting at least onedownlink control channel and at least one downlink data channel in atleast one downlink subframe to the UE; and receiving a Physical UplinkControl CHannel (PUCCH) in an uplink subframe based on a PUCCH resource,the PUCCH resource being determined among at least one PUCCH resourcecandidate based on identified ACKnowledgement/Negative ACKnowledgement(ACK/NACK) information for the at least one downlink data channel,respectively, the at least one PUCCH resource candidate for the uplinksubframe being determined based on a first Control Channel Element (CCE)of each of the at least one downlink control channel and a number of theat least one downlink subframe associated with the uplink subframe.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a UserEquipment (UE) for allocating an uplink resource is provided. The UEincludes a transceiver configured to transceive signals with a basestation; and a controller configured to control the transceiver, toreceive a downlink control channel and a downlink data channelcorresponding to the downlink control channel from the base station, toidentify a Physical Uplink Control CHannel (PUCCH) resource index forthe downlink data channel based on a first Control Channel Element (CCE)of the downlink control channel and to transmit a PUCCH in an uplinksubframe based on the identified PUCCH resource index.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a basestation is provided for supporting uplink resource allocation for a UserEquipment (UE). The base station includes a transceiver configured totransceive signals with the UE; and a controller configured to controlthe transceiver, to transmit a downlink control channel and a downlinkdata channel corresponding to the downlink control channel to the UE,and to receive a Physical Uplink Control CHannel (PUCCH) in an uplinksubframe based on a PUCCH resource index for the downlink data channel,the PUCCH resource index being identified based on a first ControlChannel Element (CCE) of the downlink control channel.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a UserEquipment (UE) is provided for allocating an uplink resource. The UEincludes a transceiver configured to transceive signals with a basestation; and a controller configured to control the transceiver, toreceive at least one downlink control channel and at least one downlinkdata channel corresponding to the at least one downlink control channelin at least one downlink subframe from the base station, to determine atleast one Physical Uplink Control CHannel (PUCCH) resource candidate foran uplink subframe based on a first Control Channel Element (CCE) ofeach of the at least one downlink control channel and a number of the atleast one downlink subframe associated with the uplink subframe, toidentify ACKnowledgement/Negative ACKnowledgement (ACK/NACK) informationfor the at least one downlink data channel, respectively, to determine aPUCCH resource among the at least one PUCCH resource candidate based onthe identified ACK/NACK information, and to transmit a PUCCH in theuplink subframe based on the determined PUCCH resource.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a basestation is provided for supporting uplink resource allocation for a UserEquipment (UE). The base station includes a transceiver configured totransceive signals with the UE; and a controller configured to controlthe transceiver, to transmit at least one downlink control channel andat least one downlink data channel in at least one downlink subframe tothe UE and to receive a Physical Uplink Control CHannel (PUCCH) in anuplink subframe based on a PUCCH resource, the PUCCH resource beingdetermined among at least one PUCCH resource candidate based onidentified ACKnowledgement/Negative ACKnowledgement (ACK/NACK)information for the at least one downlink data channel, respectively,the at least one PUCCH resource candidate for the uplink subframe beingdetermined based on a first Control Channel Element (CCE) of each of theat least one downlink control channel and a number of the at least onedownlink subframe associated with the uplink subframe.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of certainembodiments of the present invention will be more apparent from thefollowing detailed description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows an LTE TDD frame structure;

FIG. 2 shows an LTE TDD frame structure;

FIG. 3 shows an uplink control channel structure;

FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram 1 of CCE for binding with ACK/NACKchannels;

FIG. 5 shows a schematic diagram 2 of CCE for binding with ACK/NACKchannels;

FIG. 6 shows a schematic diagram for binding CCEs in a plurality ofsub-frames with ACK/NACK channels;

FIG. 7 shows a block diagram of an apparatus in Node B for processingdata transmission;

FIG. 8 shows a block diagram of an apparatus in UE for processing datatransmission;

FIG. 9 shows a block diagram of an apparatus in Node B for processingdownlink data transmission;

FIG. 10 shows a block diagram of an apparatus in UE for processingdownlink data transmission;

FIG. 11 shows a schematic diagram 1 for impliedly binding CCE in onesub-frame with ACK/NACK;

FIG. 12 shows a schematic diagram 2 for impliedly binding CCE in onesub-frame with ACK/NACK;

FIG. 13 shows schematic diagram 1 for impliedly binding CCE in twosub-frames with ACK/NACK;

FIG. 14 shows a schematic diagram 2 for impliedly binding CCE in twosub-frames with ACK/NACK; and

FIG. 15 shows a schematic diagram 3 for impliedly binding CCE in onesub-frame with ACK/NACK.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Various embodiments of the present invention will now be described indetail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the followingdescription, specific details such as detailed configuration andcomponents are merely provided to assist the overall understanding ofthese embodiments of the present invention. Therefore, it should beapparent to those skilled in the art that various changes andmodifications of the embodiments described herein can be made withoutdeparting from the scope and spirit of the present invention. Inaddition, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions areomitted for clarity and conciseness.

Present invention provides a method for impliedly binding CCE in onesub-frame with ACK/NACK channel indexes in one uplink sub-frame, and amethod for impliedly binding CCE indexes in a plurality of sub-framesand ACK/NACK channel indexes in one uplink sub-frame.

Solution 1: Impliedly Binding CCE in One Downlink Sub-Frame withACK/NACK

Here the method for impliedly binding CCE indexes in one sub-frame withACK/NACK channel indexes in one uplink sub-frame is discussed. Themethod may be used in both the LTE FDD system and the LTE TDD system.

Generally, suppose that a PDCCH is obtained by combining a plurality ofCCEs and may contain N CCEs. According to the discussion results, N isequal to 4 in LTE system and the number of CCEs contained in the PDCCHmay be 1, 2, 4 and 8. Here, the method for binding CCE with ACK/NACKchannels is that the CCEs with the minimum index in each PDCCH havingmost number of CCEs are bound to the ACK/NACK channels with less indexvalues, and other CCEs are bound to ACK/NACK channels with greater indexvalues.

The following is description of an implementation step for the methodfor binding CCE to ACK/NACK channels. M values are selected from Nvalues of CCEs contained in PDCCH, and let it be C_(m), m=0, 1, . . .M−1, where M is less than or equal to N. Here suppose that C_(m)decreases with m monotonously. Firstly, CCEs with the minimum index ineach PDCCH having C₀ CCEs are obtained respectively and the number ofthe CCEs obtained is denoted as P₀. These CCEs are bound to successiveP₀ ACK/NACK channels indexed from 0 in turns. Then, the method consistsof obtaining the CCEs with the minimum index of the PDCCH having C₁ CCEsrespectively from remaining CCEs which are not bound to ACK/NACK,denoting its number is P₁, binding these CCEs to successive P₁ ACK/NACKchannels indexed from P₀ in turns. Generally, each of the CCEs with theminimum index of the PDCCH having C_(k) CCEs are obtained respectivelyfrom remaining CCEs which are not bound to ACK/NACK, the number of theCCEs obtained is denoted as P_(k), these CCEs are bound to successiveP_(k) ACK/NACK channels indexed from

$\sum\limits_{j = 0}^{k - 1}P_{j}$

in turns. Repeating the above mentioned process until all of CCEs arebound to ACK/NACK channel.

When the number C_(m) of CCEs contained in the PDCCH has power of 2,namely C_(m)=2^(m), m=0, 1, . . . M−1, and further suppose that, thePDCCH which contains C_(m) CCEs only occupies successive C_(m) CCEsindexed from 1˜C_(m), denoting the number of CCEs in sub-frame isN_(CCE), its index is 0˜N_(CCE)−1, l is an integer greater than or equalto 0 and l·C_(m)<N_(CCE), denoting AN_(i) is the index of ACK/NACK boundwith the i^(th) CCE, so that the indexes of ACK/NACK bound with each CCEare determined upon the following procedure:

for i = 0 to N_(CCE) − 1 if mod(i,2^(M−1)) = 0 and N_(CCE) − 1 − i ≧2^(M−1) − 1 ${{AN}_{i} = \frac{i}{2^{M - 1}}};$ else for j = M−2 to 0 ifmod(i,2^(j)) = 0 and N_(CCE) − 1 − i ≧ 2^(M-1) − 1${{AN}_{i} = {\left\lfloor \frac{N_{CCE}}{2^{j + 1}} \right\rfloor + \left\lceil \frac{i}{2^{j + 1}} \right\rceil}};$break; end if end for end if end for

With this method, ACK/NACK channels bound with CCE shall be ensured tobe centralized into less index values as best as they can, so that moreRBs configured for ACK/NACK channels are idle and node B can scheduledynamically such RBs for uplink data transmission so as to improveresource utilization rate.

FIG. 7 shows a block diagram of an apparatus of Node B for processingdata transmission. First of all, the node B generates downlink controlinformation (703) for scheduling each UE. The information generatedincludes control information for scheduling downlink transmission andcontrol information for scheduling uplink transmission. Then operationsof coding, rate matching (704) and so on are performed. Next, the node Bmultiplexes and scrambles downlink control information for each UE(705). It is followed by that the node B modulates and interleavesmultiplexed downlink control information (706) and finally inputs tophysical channel multiplexer (707).

In module 705, the node B tries its best to ensure each ACK/NACK boundwith CCE with the minimum index occupied for scheduling control channelof downlink transmission is centralized into less index values, so thata part of time frequency resource among resources allocatedsemi-statically for transmitting ACK/NACK will not be adopted actuallyto transmit ACK/NACK information and these non-occupied resources can beallocated dynamically for uplink data transmission. For downlink data(701), the node B performs operations of coding, rate matching,interleaving, modulating and other operations on them (702) and theninputs to physical channel multiplexer (707). Node B multiplexesdownlink data and downlink control information in module 707 andtransmits them through a means for transmitting/receiving (708). Then,the node B performs reception through the means fortransmitting/receiving (708), performs de-multiplexing to obtain theuplink data (710) and ACK/NACK channels with physical channelde-multiplexer (709), in which the de-multiplexing on uplink data andACK/NACK channels are controlled by the controller for binding CCE andACK/NACK (700). That is the node B obtains the indexes of ACK/NACKchannels occupied actually for each scheduled downlink data transmissionin the current uplink sub-frame, based on the minimum CCE index ofdownlink control channel used for scheduling this downlink datatransmission. With the method of present invention for binding CCE withACK/NACK, the indexes of the ACK/NACK channels occupied actually in thecurrent uplink sub-frame are obtained, and the ACK/NACK channels areobtained by de-multiplexing on the resource on which the ACK/NACKchannels are transmitted actually. Next, the node B detects ACK/NACKchannels in corresponding indexes with an ACK/NACK channel resolver(711); for uplink data, based on the method for node B for allocatinguplink resources, node B may need to de-multiplex uplink data in a partof ACK/NACK channel resources.

FIG. 8 shows a block diagram of an apparatus in the UE for processingdata transmission. First of all, a reception operation is performedthrough a means for transmitting/receiving (801), a downlink physicalcontrol channel is obtained with a physical channel de-multiplexer(802), and operations of de-scrambling and de-multiplexing are performedin a module 805 after de-interleaving, de-modulating and otheroperations (804). In which the UE performs a busy inspection over allkinds of control channels which may be consisted of one or more CCEs,performs rate de-matching and decoding in module 806, and determineswhether this control channel is transmitted to the UE itself or not inmodule 807. suppose that the UE detects control channel transmitted toitself for scheduling downlink data transmission, then on one hand, theUE de-multiplexes and processes the downlink data (803) with thephysical channel de-multiplexer (802) based on the control informationsent from node B; on another hand, the UE obtains ACK/NACK channelindexes allocated to itself in the controller 800 for binding CCE withACK/NACK based on the minimum CCE index of control channel by the methodof present invention. Then, the UE generates the ACK/NACK controlinformation (808), obtains ACK/NACK channel indexes in module 800,multiplexes ACK/NACK information with physical channel multiplexer (810)and transmits them via the means for transmitting/receiving (801).Furthermore, when the UE detects the control signaling for the node Bscheduling the uplink data transmission in module 807, the UEmultiplexes the uplink data (809) with physical channel multiplexer(810) and sends them with the means for transmitting/receiving (801).

Solution 2: Impliedly Binding CCEs in a Plurality of Downlink Sub-Frameswith ACK/NACKs

Here the method for impliedly binding CCE indexes in a plurality ofsub-frames with ACK/NACK channel indexes in one uplink sub-frame isdiscussed, which may be used in LTE TDD system.

Suppose one uplink sub-frame requires to transmit ACK/NACKs channel of Kdownlink sub-frames, the way of binding CCEs to ACK/NACK channels is tobind CCEs in the k^(th) downlink sub-frame to ACK/NACK channel indexedas l·K+k, in which k=0, 1, . . . K−1, l is an integer greater than orequal to 0 and l·K+k<N_(AN), N_(AN) is a total number of ACK/NACKchannels configured in this uplink sub-frame. Denote the A_(k) is a setof ACK/NACK channels indexed as l·K+k, and ACK/NACK channels in the setA_(k) are arranged in the order that the indexes increase, so that theACK/NACK channel indexed as l·K+k is indexed as l in the set A_(k). Theway for binding CCE in the k^(th) downlink sub-frame to ACK/NACK channelin the set A_(k) may be but not limited: a method for impliedly bindingCCE index in one sub-frame with ACK/NACK channel index in an uplinksub-frame in the solution 1 of present invention, however, each CCEindex in the k^(th) downlink sub-frame is bound with ACK/NACK channelindex which is no longer the index in uplink sub-frame but in set A_(k);a method for enabling ACK/NACK channel index in set A_(k) bound witheach CCE in the k^(th) downlink sub-frame to be equal to the index ofthis CCE in the k^(th) downlink sub-frame.

By this method, the index of each ACK/NACK channel bound with CCE indownlink sub-frame is not related to the number of CCEs in otherdownlink sub-frame, i.e., only when UE for scheduling downlink datatransmission in a certain downlink sub-frame receives the PCFICH of thisdownlink sub-frame correctly, it obtains ACK/NACK channel indexes basedon the CCE occupied by its PDCCH regardless the PCFICH of othersub-frames.

Description of two available methods of present invention for indexing aplurality of downlink sub-frames in response to one uplink sub-frame isgiven. However present invention is not limited to both indexingmethods.

A first indexing method is that K downlink sub-frames in response to oneuplink sub-frame can be indexed by time sequence, k=0, 1, . . . K−1. Inthis way, according to the above method for binding CCE to ACK/NACKchannel, the CCE in k^(th) downlink sub-frame is bound to ACK/NACKchannel indexed as l·K+k. A second indexing method is to numbersuccessively each downlink sub-frame in a TDD switching period (5 ms or10 ms), suppose that there is a total of N_(D) downlink sub-frames in aswitching period, so that all downlink sub-frames in one switchingperiod are numbered as n=0, 1, . . . N_(D)−1. In this way, for Kdownlink sub-frames in response to one uplink sub-frames, the downlinksub-frame numbered n can be indexed as k=mod(n,K) in this K downlinksub-frames. In this way, according to the above method for binding CCEto ACK/NACK channel, the CCE numbered n in downlink sub-frame is boundto ACK/NACK channel indexed as l·K+k=l·K+mod(n,K).

Suppose one uplink sub-frame requires to transmit ACK/NACK channel of Kdownlink sub-frames, the second method for binding CCE to ACK/NACKchannel is that, for CCE in the k^(th) downlink sub-frame, ACK/NACKchannels are allocated starting from ACK/NACK channel indexed as f(k),f(k) is a function of k, e.g., f(k)=k·N_(S) or f(k)=(K−1−k)·N_(S), k=0,1, . . . K−1, N_(S) can be equal to

$\left\lfloor \frac{N_{AN}}{K} \right\rfloor$ or$\left\lceil \frac{N_{AN}}{K} \right\rceil,$

N_(AN) is the total number of ACK/NACK channels configured in thisuplink sub-frame. Suppose that a CCE in the k^(th) downlink sub-frame isindexed as c, ACK/NACK channel bound with this CCE is indexed asmod(f(k)+f(c),N_(AN)), f(c) is a function of c. For example, iff(k)=k·N_(S), f(c)=c, ACK/NACK channel bound with CCE indexed as c isindexed as mod(k·N+c,N_(AN)); or if f(k)=k·N_(S), f(c)=−c, ACK/NACKchannel bound with CCE indexed as c is indexed as mod(k·N_(S)−c,N_(AN)).With this method, when the number of CCEs in each downlink sub-frame isless than or equal to N_(S), all downlink sub-frames are bound todifferent ACK/NACK channels respectively. When the number of CCEs in oneor more downlink sub-frames is greater than N_(S), a plurality ofdownlink sub-frames may be bound to the same ACK/NACK channel and bynow, node B scheduler has to ensure no conflict exits in ACK/NACKchannels for its scheduled downlink data transmission.

ACK/NACK channel bound with CCE is determined by the index k of downlinksub-frame and CCE index c of the k^(th) downlink sub-frame, togetherwith introducing other parameters such as the index p of the first PRBallocated by node B for data channel. In this way, it can be definedthat ACK/NACK channel index bound with CCE indexed as c and PRB indexedas p is indexed as mod(f(k)+f(c, p),N_(AN)), f(c,p) is the function of cand p. For example, if f(k)=k·N_(S), f(c, p)=c+p, ACK/NACK channel boundis indexed as mod(k·N_(S)+c+p,N_(AN)); or if f(k)=k·N_(S), f(c,p)=−c−p,ACK/NACK channel bound is indexed as mod(k·N_(S)−c−p,N_(AN)).

In the LTE system, node B could configure a plurality of uplink RBs fortransmitting ACK/NACK information; meanwhile, a plurality of ACK/NACKchannels could be multiplexed in each uplink RB. So that when uplinkACK/NACK channels are indexed, one indexing method is to index first allACK/NACK channels in one RB, then index those in next RB; the otherindexing method is to index first one ACK/NACK channel in all RBs, thenindex a next one in all RBs. For the second method above for bindingCCEs to ACK/NACK channels, present invention is not be limited anymethods for indexing uplink ACK/NACK channels, i.e., it can be indexingmethods or other methods.

Present invention provides some expressions on the methods for bindingCCEs to ACK/NACK channels, the other expressions may be used as long asit could achieve the same effect with formulas provided in presentinvention.

Solution 3: a Method for Mapping a Plurality of CCEs to One ACK/NACKChannel

For the TDD system, in a case of some configuration proportion betweensome uplinks and downlinks, ACK/NACKs in several downlink sub-framesneed to be transmitted in the same uplink sub-frame. Suppose the numberof downlink sub-frames and ACK/NACK channels in uplink sub-frames are Kand N_(AN) respectively. An available method is to divide all ACK/NACKchannels into K parts, and then each downlink sub-frame occupies onepart of channels among K parts. The ACK/NACK channels could be dividedinto K parts equally. For example, by the method described in thesolution 2 of present invention, that is, the CCE in the k^(th) downlinksub-frame is bound to ACK/NACK channel indexed as l·K+k, where, k=0, 1,. . . K−1, l is an integer greater than or equal to 0 and l·K+k<N_(AN);or CCE in the k^(th) downlink sub-frame is bound to ACK/NACK indexed as

${{k\; {\left. \frac{N_{AN}}{K} \right.\sim\left( {k + 1} \right)}\frac{N_{AN}}{K}} - 1},{k = 0},1,{{\ldots \mspace{14mu} K} - 1.}$

Please be noted that for the second method, when N_(AN) is unable to bedivided exactly by K, the above mentioned formula may be modifiedslightly. When dividing into K parts, the number of ACK/NACK allocatedto downlink sub-frames depends on the characteristic of the sub-frame.For example, the number of ACK/NACK channels allocated to downlinksub-frames only scheduled for downlink transmission is less, and that ofACK/NACK channels allocated to downlink sub-frames scheduled for bothdownlink transmission and uplink transmission are greater. It is becausethat for the downlink sub-frames scheduled for both uplink and downlinktransmissions, although the PDCCH scheduled for the uplink transmissiondoes not need ACK/NACK channels, ACK/NACK channels are still occupiedimpliedly. For example, the number of ACK/NACK channels of downlinksub-frames scheduled for both uplink and downlink transmissions can beconfigured to be twice that of ACK/NACK channels allocated to downlinksub-frames only scheduled for downlink transmission.

Suppose that the number of CCEs of one downlink sub-frame is N_(CCE),and the number of ACK/NACK allocated to the downlink sub-frame is N_(AN)^(part). When N_(CCE)>N_(AN) ^(part), a plurality of CCEs are mapped toone ACK/NACK. Node B scheduler may ensure no conflict exists in ACK/NACKchannels that it schedules for downlink data transmission. When the CCEindexed as i_(CCE) is mapped to ACK/NACK indexed asi_(AN)=mod(i_(CCE)+δ,N_(AN) ^(part)) or i_(AN)=mod(i_(CCE),N_(AN)^(part))+δ, where CCE and ACK/NACK are indexed from 0 and δ is aconstant which can be predefined or configured semi-statically. Sincethe index of an ACK/NACK channel for downlink HARQ transmission isdetermined by a CCE with the minimum index of PDCCH which consists of aplurality of CCEs (1, 2, 4 or 8), when N_(AN) ^(part) is an eveninteger, several PDCCHs which consist of 2-CCE (or 4-CCE or 8-CCE) willbe mapped to the same ACK/NACK, so that it will limit the number of thePDCCH with 2-CCE (or 4-CCE, or 8-CCE) transmitted along the downlinkdirection simultaneously so as to limit the scheduling on the node B.

In order to solve this problem, present invention provides a method inwhich one circular offset η is added when CCEs are mapped to oneACK/NACK repeatedly. Here, η is used for ensuring that all PDCCHs with2-CCE (or 4-CCE, or 8-CCE) are mapped to different ACK/NACKs when theplurality of CCEs are mapped to ACK/NACKs. This circular offset η couldbe determined based on σ=mod(N_(AN) ^(part)+1, 2), a parity of N_(AN)^(part), and

$n = \left\lfloor \frac{i_{CCE}}{N_{AN}^{part}} \right\rfloor$

(a number of times that CCEs are mapped to ACK/NACKs). For example, wheni_(CCE)<N_(AN) ^(part), i_(AN)=mod(i_(CCE)+δ,N_(AN) ^(part)); wheni_(CCE)>N_(AN) ^(part), i_(AN)=mod(i_(CCE)+δ+η,N_(AN) ^(part)). Or, wheni_(CCE)<N_(AN) ^(part), i_(AN)=mod(i_(CCE),N_(AN) ^(part))+δ; wheni_(CCE)>N_(AN) ^(part), i_(AN)=mod(i_(CCE)+η,N_(AN) ^(part))+δ.

Three methods for identifying η will be but not limited to:

${{\eta = {\sigma = {{mod}\left( {{N_{AN}^{part} + 1},2} \right)}}},{\eta = {{\sigma + n - 1} = {{{mod}\left( {{N_{AN}^{part} + 1},2} \right)} + \left\lfloor \frac{i_{CCE}}{N_{AN}^{part}} \right\rfloor - {1\mspace{14mu} {and}}}}}}\mspace{14mu}$$\eta = {{\sigma \cdot n} = {{{mod}\left( {{N_{AN}^{part} + 1},2} \right)} \cdot {\left\lfloor \frac{i_{CCE}}{N_{AN}^{part}} \right\rfloor.}}}$

With the third method for identifying η, the methods according topresent invention for mapping CCE to ACK/NACK can also be expressed as:for all CCEs, the indexes of the ACK/NACK to which the CCEs are mappedare

${i_{AN} = {{mod}\left( {{i_{CCE} + \delta + {{{mod}\left( {{N_{AN}^{part} + 1},2} \right)} \cdot \left\lfloor \frac{i_{CCE}}{N_{AN}^{part}} \right\rfloor}},N_{AN}^{part}} \right)}},{or}$$i_{AN} = {{{mod}\left( {{i_{CCE} + {{{mod}\left( {{N_{AN}^{part} + 1},2} \right)} \cdot \left\lfloor \frac{i_{CCE}}{N_{AN}^{part}} \right\rfloor}},N_{AN}^{part}} \right)} + {\delta.}}$

The methods in Solution 3 may be applied in both the TDD system and theFDD system.

FIG. 9 shows a block diagram of an apparatus of Node B for processingdownlink data transmission. Firstly, node B generates downlink controlinformation (903) for each UE for scheduling downlink data transmission,then performs coding, rate matching and other operations (904). Next,node B multiplexes and scrambles downlink control information for eachUE together (905). Then the node B modulates and interleaves multiplexeddownlink control information (906) and inputs to physical channelmultiplexer (907). For the downlink data (901), the node B performscoding, rate matching, interleaving, modulating and other operations onthem (902) and then inputs to physical channel multiplexer (907). Node Bmultiplexes downlink data and downlink control information in module 907and transmits them through the means for transmitting/receiving (908).Next, node B receives through the means for transmitting/receiving(908), and de-multiplexes ACK/NACK channels in each downlink frame fordownlink data transmission with the physical channel de-multiplexer(909). The de-multiplexing of ACK/NACK is controlled by the controllerfor binding CCE to ACK/NACK (900). That is, the node B obtains theindexes of ACK/NACK channels occupied by each scheduled downlink datatransmission actually in current sub-frame, based on the minimum CCEindex of downlink control channel used for scheduling this downlink datatransmission using the method of present invention for binding CCE withACK/NACK, then de-multiplexes ACK/NACK channels according to the indexof this ACK/NACK channel. Next, the node B detects ACK/NACK channels incorresponding indexes with ACK/NACK channel resolver (910).

FIG. 10 shows a block diagram of an apparatus of UE for processingdownlink data transmission. First of all, it performs reception throughthe means for transmitting/receiving (1001), de-multiplexes out thedownlink physical control channel by the physical channel de-multiplexer(1002) and performs de-interleaving, de-modulating and other operations(1004), de-scrambles and de-multiplexes in a module 1005, in which theUE performs the busy inspection over all kinds of possible controlchannels which may be consisted of one or more CCEs, performs ratede-matching and decoding in module 1006, and determines whether thiscontrol channel is sent to itself in module 1007. Suppose that UEdetects control channel sent to itself for scheduling downlink datatransmission, on one hand, UE de-multiplexes and processes downlink data(1002) with physical channel de-multiplexer (1003) based on controlinformation sent from node B. On another hand, the UE obtains ACK/NACKchannel indexes allocated to itself in the controller 1000 for bindingCCE with ACK/NACK, based on the minimum CCE index of control channel andindexes of downlink sub-frames occupied for downlink data transmissionby the method of present invention. Then, the UE generates ACK/NACKcontrol information (1008), obtains ACK/NACK channel indexes in module1000, multiplexes ACK/NACK information with physical channel multiplexer(1110) and sends them with transmitting/receiving set (1001).

EMBODIMENTS

In this section, five embodiments according to present invention areintroduced. To avoid make the specification ambiguous, detailedwell-known configuration is omitted.

A First Embodiment

A first embodiment of the method for impliedly binding CCE indexes inone sub-frame and ACK/NACK channel indexes in an uplink sub-frame isgiven. The LTE system is taken as an example. According to thediscussion results up to now, in LTE system, the number of CCEscontained in PDCCH may be 1, 2, 4 and 8.

With reference to FIG. 11, suppose that a certain downlink sub-frameincludes 19 CCEs with indexes of 0˜18. Accordingly, if there are 19ACK/NACK channels, they are indexed as 0˜18. The method of presentinvention consist in that first, the CCEs with the minimum index in eachPDCCH having 8 CCEs (indexed as 0 and 8) are bound to ACK/NACK channelsindexed as 0 and 1; then, among remaining CCEs, the CCEs with theminimum index (indexed as 4 and 12) in the PDCCH having 4 CCEs are boundto ACK/NACK channels indexed as 2 and 3; next, among remaining CCEs, theCCEs with the minimum index in each PDCCH having 2 CCEs (indexed 2, 6,10, 14 and 16) are bound to ACK/NACK channels indexed as 4˜8; finally,remaining CCEs (indexed as 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17 and 18) arebound to ACK/NACK channels indexed as 9˜18.

In FIG. 12, suppose that a certain downlink sub-frame includes 16 CCEswith indexes of 0˜15; accordingly, if there are 16 ACK/NACK channels,they are indexed as 0˜15. The method of present invention consist inthat: first, the CCE with minimum index in each PDCCH having 8 CCEs(indexed as 0 and 8) are bound to ACK/NACK channels indexed as 0 and 1;then, among remaining CCEs, CCEs with the minimum index in each PDCCHhaving 4 CCEs (indexed as 4 and 12) are bound to ACK/NACK channelsindexed as 2 and 3; next, among the remaining CCEs, CCEs with theminimum index in each PDCCH having 2 CCEs (indexed 2, 6, 10 and 14) arebound to ACK/NACK channels indexed as 4˜7; finally, remaining CCEs(indexed as 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, and 15) are bound to ACK/NACKchannels indexed as 8˜15. As shown in FIG. 12, this downlink sub-frameincludes two PDCCHs consisted of 8 CCEs respectively which are bound toACK/NACK channels indexed as 0 and 1, i.e., both of ACK/NACK channelsare distributed in the first RB while all ACK/NACK channels in thesecond RB are not occupied which means the second RB is idle so thatnode B can schedule it dynamically for uplink data transmission.

A Second Embodiment

The embodiment describes a method of present invention for impliedlybinding CCE indexes in a plurality of sub-frames and ACK/NACK channelindexes in an uplink sub-frame. The LTE TDD system is taken as anexample.

In example 1 demonstrated in FIG. 13, suppose the number of CCEs in thefirst downlink sub-frame is 8, those in the second downlink sub-frame is8. According to the methods of present invention, CCEs in the firstdownlink sub-frame are mapped to ACK/NACK channels indexed as evenintegers (0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14); those in the second downlinksub-frame are mapped to ACK/NACK channels indexed as odd integers (1, 3,5, 7, 9, 11, 13 and 15). In example 2 demonstrated in FIG. 13, supposethat the number of CCEs in the first downlink sub-frame is 4, those inthe second downlink sub-frame is 8. According to the methods of presentinvention, CCEs in a first downlink sub-frame are mapped to a first 4ACK/NACK channels indexed as even integers (0, 2, 4 and 6); those in asecond downlink sub-frame are mapped to ACK/NACK channels indexed as oddintegers (1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 and 15). With both example 1 and 2described above, CCEs in the second downlink sub-frame are mapped toACK/NACK channels regardless the number of CCEs in the first sub-frame,namely the PCFICH in the first sub-frame.

A Third Embodiment

The embodiment describes another method of present invention forimpliedly binding CCE indexes in a plurality of sub-frames and ACK/NACKchannel indexes in an uplink sub-frame. The LTE TDD system is taken asan example here. Suppose that CCEs in two downlink sub-frames have to bebound to ACK/NACK channels in the same uplink sub-frame, denote thetotal number of ACK/NACK channels in uplink sub-frame is N_(AN)=16. Inthis example, CCEs in the first downlink sub-frame are bound to ACK/NACKchannels indexed from 0 in turns; those in the second downlink sub-frameare bound to ACK/NACK channels indexed from

$\frac{N_{AN}}{2} = 8$

in turns.

In example 1 demonstrated in FIG. 14, suppose that the number of CCEs inthe first downlink sub-frame is 8, those in the second downlinksub-frame is also 8. According to the methods of present invention, CCEsin two downlink sub-frames are mapped to different ACK/NACK channelsrespectively. i.e., CCEs in the first downlink sub-frame are mapped toACK/NACK channels indexed as 0˜7; and those in the second downlinksub-frame are mapped to ACK/NACK channels indexed as 8˜15.

In example 2 demonstrated in FIG. 14, suppose that the number of CCEs inthe first downlink sub-frame is 12, those in the second downlinksub-frame is still 8. Based on the methods of present invention, CCEs inthe first downlink sub-frame are mapped to ACK/NACK channels indexed as0˜11; and those in the second downlink sub-frame are still mapped toACK/NACK channels indexed as 8˜11. Obviously, CCEs in the firstsub-frame indexed as 8˜11 are mapped to the same ACK/NACK channels withCCEs in the second sub-frame indexed as 0˜3. By now, Node B schedulerhas to ensure no conflict exists in ACK/NACK channels that it schedulesfor downlink data transmission in two downlink sub-frames.

A Fourth Embodiment

This embodiment describes a method for mapping a plurality of CCEs toACK/NACK channels when the number of CCEs in one downlink sub-frame isbigger than that of allocated ACK/NACK channels. Here, suppose that thenumber of CCEs in one downlink sub-frame is 28 and a total number ofACK/NACK channels allocated to one downlink sub-frame is N_(AN)^(part)=16. This example is available to both FDD and TDD. The formula

$i_{AN} = {{mod}\left( {{i_{CCE} + \delta + {{{mod}\left( {{N_{AN}^{part} + 1},2} \right)} \cdot \left\lfloor \frac{i_{CCE}}{N_{AN}^{part}} \right\rfloor}},N_{AN}^{part}} \right)}$

is taken as an example.

According to the formula

${i_{AN} = {{mod}\left( {{i_{CCE} + \delta + {{{mod}\left( {{N_{AN}^{part} + 1},2} \right)} \cdot \left\lfloor \frac{i_{CCE}}{N_{AN}^{part}} \right\rfloor}},N_{AN}^{part}} \right)}},$

if δ=0, then

$i_{AN} = {{{mod}\left( {{i_{CCE} + {{{mod}\left( {{16 + 1},2} \right)} \cdot \left\lfloor \frac{i_{CCE}}{16} \right\rfloor}},16} \right)} = {{{mod}\left( {{i_{CCE} + \left\lfloor \frac{i_{CCE}}{16} \right\rfloor},16} \right)}.}}$

Based on this formula, when indexing the CCEs whose index is greaterthan or equal to N_(AN) ^(part)=16, the circular offset is performed andthe value for the offset is 1. FIG. 15 shows a schematic diagram of thismethod. With reference to FIG. 15, Example 1 shows a schematic diagramfor indexing the PDCCH consisted of 2 CCEs to the ACK/NACKs and mapping14 PDCCHs to different ACK/NACKs respectively. Example 2 shows aschematic diagram for indexing PDCCH consisted of 4 CCEs to ACK/NACKsand mapping 7 PDCCHs to different ACK/NACKs respectively. Example 3shows a schematic diagram for indexing PDCCH consisted of 8 CCEs to theACK/NACKs and mapping 3 PDCCHs to different ACK/NACKs respectively.

This embodiment is also used to determine the mapping relation ship fromthe CCE to the ACK/NACK based on

${i_{AN} = {{{mod}\left( {{i_{CCE} + {{{mod}\left( {{N_{AN}^{part} + 1},2} \right)} \cdot \left\lfloor \frac{i_{CCE}}{N_{AN}^{part}} \right\rfloor}},N_{AN}^{part}} \right)} + \delta}},{\delta = 0.}$

A Fifth Embodiment

A so-called block interleaved mapping method may be used for mapping aplurality of CCEs to ACK/NACK channels. Next, such a block interleavedmapping method will be described firstly. A plurality of downlinksub-frames of ACK/NACK channels transmitted in one uplink sub-frame isdefined as a binding window. Let the number of the downlink sub-frameswithin the binding window be D.

In this method it is defined only one set of boundary values {N_(k),k=0, 1, 2, . . . , k_(max)} that partitions CCEs within the bindingwindow. Here N₀ is fixed as 0, so that CCEs within each downlinksub-frames are divided into k_(max) CCE blocks in the order of indexesof the CCEs. Here a block boundary is determined based on a maximumnumber of CCEs among different values for controlling the number of OFDMsymbols of channels, it may also be determined with an equal divisionmethod. Let a size of each CCE block be C, then N_(k)=k·C is held,thereby simplifying formula design. However, the present invention isnot limited.

Next, each sub-frame within the binding window is indexed. Herein, eachsub-frame within the binding window may be indexed by time sequence.Alternatively, when the binding window contains a DwPTS, the DwPTS isconstantly assigned with a maximum index D−1, while the other sub-framesare indexed as d=0, 1, 2, . . . D−2 by time sequence. When the bindingwindow does not contain any DwPTS, each sub-frame is directly indexed asd=0, 1, 2, . . . D−1 by time sequence. However, the present inventionhas no limitation therein.

Next, CCE blocks of each downlink sub-frame is interleaved, and thenindexes of ACK/NACK channels, to which the CCE blocks are to be mapped,are computed in turn. In particular, firstly, a k=0^(th) CCE block ineach sub-frame within the binding window is mapped to ACK/NACK channelssuccessively by the sequence of the indexes of the sub-frames, i.e. CCEswithin the k=0^(th) CCE block of the d=0^(th) sub-frame is mapped toACK/NACK channels; then CCEs within the k=0^(th) CCE block of thed=1^(th) sub-frame is mapped to ACK/NACK channels; the rest may bededuced similarly, until CCEs within the k=0^(th) CCE block of thed=D−1^(th) sub-frame have been mapped to ACK/NACK channels. Then, thek=1^(th) CCE block in each sub-frame within the binding window is mappedto ACK/NACK channels successively by the sequence of the indexes of thesub-frames, the rest may be deduced by analogy until thek=k_(max)−1^(th) CCE block in each sub-frame within the binding windowhas been mapped to ACK/NACK channels.

Based on this interleaved mapping method from CCEs to ACK/NACK channels,for a CCE with an index n_(CCE) of a downlink sub-frame within thebinding window, a CCE block where the CCE locates is firstly determined,i.e. to find N_(k) and N_(k+1), wherein N_(k)≦n_(CCE)<N_(k+1), so thatthis CCE belongs to the k^(th) CCE block. Let downlink sub-frames withinthe binding window are indexed as d=0, 1, 2, . . . D−1. In this way, fora CCE with an index n_(CCE) of the d^(th) downlink sub-frame, an indexn_(PUCCH) ⁽¹⁾ of an ACK/NACK channel, to which the CCE is mapped, may becomputed by the following formula: n_(PUCCH)⁽¹⁾=(D−d−1)×N_(k)+d×N_(k+1)+n_(CCE)+N_(PUCCH) ⁽¹⁾, here n_(PUCCH) ⁽¹⁾ isa semi-statically configured parameter.

For the block interleaved method of mapping CCEs to ACK/NACK channels,the method for repeatedly mapping CCEs to ACK/NACK channels in Solution3 of the present invention may be used to reduce overhead of theACK/NACK channels. Let the binding window contains D downlinksub-frames, whose indexes are d=0, 1, 2, . . . D−1 respectively.According to Solution 3 of the present invention, for a downlinksub-frame within the binding window, let the number of allocatedACK/NACK channels be N_(AN) ^(part), when a total number of CCEs withinthe sub-frame is bigger than N_(AN) ^(part), it is required torepeatedly map the CCEs to N_(AN) ^(part) ACK/NACK channels, which areallocated to the sub-frames. According to Solution 3 of the presentinvention, one circular offset η is added when it is required torepeatedly map CCEs to ACK/NACKs, so that all PDCCHs with 2-CCE (or4-CCE, or 8-CCE) are mapped to different ACK/NACKs. Here, a circularoffset

$\eta = {{{mod}\left( {{N_{AN}^{part} + 1},2} \right)} \cdot \left\lfloor \frac{n_{CCE}}{N_{AN}^{part}} \right\rfloor}$

may be set, wherein n_(CCE) is an index for a CCE of the downlinksub-frame. That is to say, η is equal to 0 when N_(AN) ^(part) is an oddinteger, and η is equal to

$\left\lfloor \frac{n_{CCE}}{N_{AN}^{part}} \right\rfloor$

when N_(AN) ^(part) is an even integer. Here, mod(A,B) is a modularoperation, which computes a reminder when A is divided by B.

In this way, with the method for repeatedly mapping CCEs to ACK/NACKchannels in Solution 3 of the present invention, an index of an ACK/NACKchannel, to which the CCEs are mapped, may be determined by thefollowing steps. Let an index of a CCE of the d^(th) downlink sub-framewithin the binding window be n_(CCE). Firstly, the index

${n_{CCE}^{\prime} = {{mod}\left( {{n_{CCE} + {{{mod}\left( {{N_{AN}^{part} + 1},2} \right)} \cdot \left\lfloor \frac{n_{CCE}}{N_{AN}^{part}} \right\rfloor}},N_{AN}^{part}} \right)}},$

n_(CCE) is processed, so as to obtain which is used for ensuring thatN_(AN) ^(part) is an even integer, and then CCEs are repeatedly mappedto the ACK/NACK channels to add a circular offset

$\left\lfloor \frac{n_{CCE}}{N_{AN}^{part}} \right\rfloor,$

so that all PDCCHs with 2-CCE (or 4-CCE, or 8-CCE) are mapped todifferent ACK/NACKs as best as they can. Next, a CCE block where the CCEof an index n′_(CCE) locates is determined, i.e. to find N_(k) andN_(k+1), wherein N_(k)≦n′_(CCE)<N_(k+1), so that this CCE belongs to thek^(th) CCE block. Then, for a CCE with an index n′_(CCE) of the d^(th)downlink sub-frame, an index n_(PUCCH) ⁽¹⁾ of an ACK/NACK channel, towhich the CCE is mapped, may be computed by the following formula:

n _(PUCCH) ⁽¹⁾=(D−d−1)×N _(k) +d×N _(k+1) +n′ _(CCE) +N _(PUCCH) ⁽¹⁾,

wherein n_(PUCCH) ⁽¹⁾ may be a semi-statically configured parameter.Here, D is the number of downlink sub-frames within the binding window,d is an index of a downlink sub-frame or a DwPTS, and N_(k) and N_(k+1)are boundary values of CCE values.

Here, the above three steps may be further reduced into two steps, inwhich a CCE block where the CCE of an index n′_(CCE) locates is firstlydetermined, i.e. to find N_(k) and N_(k+1), wherein

${N_{k} < {{mod}\left( {{n_{CCE} + {{{mod}\left( {{N_{AN}^{part} + 1},2} \right)} \cdot \left\lfloor \frac{n_{CCE}}{N_{AN}^{part}} \right\rfloor}},N_{AN}^{part}} \right)} < N_{k + 1}},$

in this way, for a CCE with an index n_(CCE) of the d^(th) downlinksub-frame, an index n_(PUCCH) ⁽¹⁾ of an ACK/NACK channel, to which theCCE is mapped, may be computed by the following formula:

$n_{PUCCH}^{(1)} = {{\left( {D - d - 1} \right) \times N_{k}} + {d \times N_{k + 1}} + {{mod}\left( {{n_{CCE} + {{{mod}\left( {{N_{AN}^{part} + 1},2} \right)} \cdot \left\lfloor \frac{n_{CCE}}{N_{AN}^{part}} \right\rfloor}},N_{AN}^{part}} \right)} + {N_{PUCCH}^{(1)}.}}$

For the above method of reducing the overhead of ACK/NACK channels, whenthe number of ACK/NACK channels allocated to one downlink is more than amaximum number of CCEs within the downlink sub-frame, the above methodof reducing the overhead of ACK/NACK channels is equivalent to that ofmapping CCEs to ACK/NACK channels without considering the overhead ofACK/NACK channels.

It should be noted that, one expression of computing formulas has beengiven in the above, any variations to these formulas automaticallybelong to the scope of the present invention. In addition, if thedivision method is used to divide CCE blocks, the expression of theabove formulas may be further simplified.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and describedwith reference to certain embodiments thereof, it will be understood bythose of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form anddetails may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scopeof the present invention as defined by the following claims and theirequivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for allocating an uplink resource for aUser Equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving a downlink controlchannel and a downlink data channel corresponding to the downlinkcontrol channel from a base station; identifying a Physical UplinkControl CHannel (PUCCH) resource index for the downlink data channelbased on a first Control Channel Element (CCE) of the downlink controlchannel; and transmitting a PUCCH in an uplink subframe based on theidentified PUCCH resource index.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereintransmitting the PUCCH comprises transmitting anACKnowledgement/Negative ACKnowledgement (ACK/NACK) corresponding to thedownlink data channel based on the identified PUCCH resource index. 3.The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the PUCCH resource indexcomprises identifying the PUCCH resource index based on the first CCE ofthe downlink control channel and a circular offset.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the first CCE is a lowest CCE index used to constructthe downlink control channel.
 5. A method for supporting uplink resourceallocation for a User Equipment (UE) at a base station, the methodcomprising: transmitting a downlink control channel and a downlink datachannel corresponding to the downlink control channel to the UE; andreceiving a Physical Uplink Control CHannel (PUCCH) in an uplinksubframe based on a PUCCH resource index for the downlink data channel,the PUCCH resource index being identified based on a first ControlChannel Element (CCE) of the downlink control channel.
 6. The method ofclaim 5, wherein receiving the PUCCH comprises receiving anACKnowledgement/Negative ACKnowledgement (ACK/NACK) corresponding to thedownlink data channel based on the identified PUCCH resource index. 7.The method of claim 5, wherein the PUCCH resource index is identifiedbased on the first CCE of the downlink control channel and a circularoffset.
 8. The method of claim 5, wherein the first CCE is a lowest CCEindex used to construct the downlink control channel.
 9. A method forallocating an uplink resource for a User Equipment (UE), the methodcomprising: receiving at least one downlink control channel and at leastone downlink data channel corresponding to the at least one downlinkcontrol channel in at least one downlink subframe from a base station;determining at least one Physical Uplink Control CHannel (PUCCH)resource candidate for an uplink subframe based on a first ControlChannel Element (CCE) of each of the at least one downlink controlchannel and a number of the at least one downlink subframe associatedwith the uplink subframe; identifying ACKnowledgement/NegativeACKnowledgement (ACK/NACK) information for the at least one downlinkdata channel, respectively; determining a PUCCH resource among the atleast one PUCCH resource candidate based on the identified ACK/NACKinformation; and transmitting a PUCCH in the uplink subframe based onthe determined PUCCH resource.
 10. The method of claim 8, whereintransmitting the PUCCH comprises transmitting an ACK/NACK correspondingto the downlink data channel based on the determined PUCCH resource. 11.The method of claim 8, wherein the first CCE is a lowest CCE index usedto construct the at least one downlink control channel.
 12. A method forsupporting uplink resource allocation for a User Equipment (UE) at abase station, the method comprising: transmitting at least one downlinkcontrol channel and at least one downlink data channel in at least onedownlink subframe to the UE; and receiving a Physical Uplink ControlCHannel (PUCCH) in an uplink subframe based on a PUCCH resource, thePUCCH resource being determined among at least one PUCCH resourcecandidate based on identified ACKnowledgement/Negative ACKnowledgement(ACK/NACK) information for the at least one downlink data channel,respectively, the at least one PUCCH resource candidate for the uplinksubframe being determined based on a first Control Channel Element (CCE)of each of the at least one downlink control channel and a number of theat least one downlink subframe associated with the uplink subframe. 13.The method of claim 12, wherein receiving the PUCCH comprises receivingan ACK/NACK corresponding to the at least one downlink data channelbased on the determined PUCCH resource.
 14. The method of claim 12,wherein the first CCE is a lowest CCE index used to construct the atleast one downlink control channel.
 15. A User Equipment (UE) forallocating an uplink resource, the UE comprising: a transceiverconfigured to transceive signals with a base station; and a controllerconfigured to control the transceiver, to receive a downlink controlchannel and a downlink data channel corresponding to the downlinkcontrol channel from the base station, to identify a Physical UplinkControl CHannel (PUCCH) resource index for the downlink data channelbased on a first Control Channel Element (CCE) of the downlink controlchannel and to transmit a PUCCH in an uplink subframe based on theidentified PUCCH resource index.
 16. The UE of claim 15, wherein thecontroller is further configured to transmit an ACKnowledgement/NegativeACKnowledgement (ACK/NACK) corresponding to the downlink data channelbased on the identified PUCCH resource index.
 17. The UE of claim 15,wherein the controller is further configured to identify the PUCCHresource index based on the first CCE of the downlink control channeland a circular offset.
 18. The UE of claim 15, wherein the first CCE isa lowest CCE index used to construct the downlink control channel.
 19. Abase station for supporting uplink resource allocation for a UserEquipment (UE), the base station comprising: a transceiver configured totransceive signals with the UE; and a controller configured to controlthe transceiver, to transmit a downlink control channel and a downlinkdata channel corresponding to the downlink control channel to the UE,and to receive a Physical Uplink Control CHannel (PUCCH) in an uplinksubframe based on a PUCCH resource index for the downlink data channel,the PUCCH resource index being identified based on a first ControlChannel Element (CCE) of the downlink control channel.
 20. The basestation of claim 19, wherein the controller is further configure toreceive an ACKnowledgement/Negative ACKnowledgement (ACK/NACK)corresponding to the downlink data channel based on the identified PUCCHresource index.
 21. The base station of claim 19, wherein the PUCCHresource index is identified based on the first CCE of the downlinkcontrol channel and a circular offset.
 22. The base station of claim 19,wherein the first CCE is a lowest CCE index used to construct thedownlink control channel.
 23. A User Equipment (UE) for allocating anuplink resource, the UE comprising: a transceiver configured totransceive signals with a base station; and a controller configured tocontrol the transceiver, to receive at least one downlink controlchannel and at least one downlink data channel corresponding to the atleast one downlink control channel in at least one downlink subframefrom the base station, to determine at least one Physical Uplink ControlCHannel (PUCCH) resource candidate for an uplink subframe based on afirst Control Channel Element (CCE) of each of the at least one downlinkcontrol channel and a number of the at least one downlink subframeassociated with the uplink subframe, to identifyACKnowledgement/Negative ACKnowledgement (ACK/NACK) information for theat least one downlink data channel, respectively, to determine a PUCCHresource among the at least one PUCCH resource candidate based on theidentified ACK/NACK information, and to transmit a PUCCH in the uplinksubframe based on the determined PUCCH resource.
 24. The UE of claim 23,wherein the controller is further configured to transmit an ACK/NACKcorresponding to the at least one downlink data channel based on thedetermined PUCCH resource.
 25. The UE of claim 23, wherein the first CCEis a lowest CCE index used to construct the at least one downlinkcontrol channel.
 26. A base station for supporting uplink resourceallocation for a User Equipment (UE), the base station comprising: atransceiver configured to transceive signals with the UE; and acontroller configured to control the transceiver, to transmit at leastone downlink control channel and at least one downlink data channel inat least one downlink subframe to the UE and to receive a PhysicalUplink Control CHannel (PUCCH) in an uplink subframe based on a PUCCHresource, the PUCCH resource being determined among at least one PUCCHresource candidate based on identified ACKnowledgement/NegativeACKnowledgement (ACK/NACK) information for the at least one downlinkdata channel, respectively, the at least one PUCCH resource candidatefor the uplink subframe being determined based on a first ControlChannel Element (CCE) of each of the at least one downlink controlchannel and a number of the at least one downlink subframe associatedwith the uplink subframe.
 27. The base station of claim 26, wherein thecontroller is further configured to receive an ACK/NACK corresponding tothe at least one downlink data channel based on the determined PUCCHresource.
 28. The base station of claim 26, wherein the first CCE is alowest CCE index used to construct the at least one downlink controlchannel.